


Someone Take Me Home

by GayCultureBeToSuffer (TalkIsOverrated)



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: But this is next level Dadvid, Camp Camp - Freeform, Child Abuse, Depression, Graphic descriptions of abuse, Homophobia, The Dadvid fanfic you never knew you needed, angsty but wholesome, dadvid, please heed the warnings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 01:19:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18458516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalkIsOverrated/pseuds/GayCultureBeToSuffer
Summary: Years after the feds finally shut down Camp Campbell, David unexpectedly runs into Max.  They both realize that they have a lot to say.





	Someone Take Me Home

**Warning — > This fic has homophobic language and graphic references to child abuse.  Please read with your own discretion.**

 

David had been eyeing the teen with his head in his phone for a couple minutes now, desperately trying to find the right words to say.  He almost didn't recognize him, with his haircut and his ripped jeans.  He never thought he'd see him again, not this long after he left the camp.  Max looked as apathetic as ever.  That hadn't changed, and David didn't know if it was a good or bad thing.

Would he even recognize him?  Would he even want to see him?  The thought alone made him unbearably nervous.

 

Nevertheless, he found himself walking towards him, hands held tight at his sides to bring himself the confidence he didn't have. 

 

Just as he was about to open his mouth, Max looked up from his phone.  David froze on the spot.  The teen's eyes narrowed in confusion, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to put a name to the face he was seeing.All of a sudden, his entire face brightened."Holy shit, David?!"

 

So he does remember me!Tears welled up in David's eyes and a smile made its way to his face, for the first time in a long while.  "Hey, Max."

 

Max immediately tore off his headphones and shoved them into his bag.  "It's been so long... Jesus Christ.  You look the same."

 

"8 years.  You're an adult now, are you on your way to college?"

 

"No..." he murmured. "Do you, uh, so do you want to sit down?"  He eagerly moved his bag to the side, ready to change the subject.

 

"Of course!"  David's heart practically jumped out of his chest.  The old Max he knew would rather die than invite him anywhere near him.   He sat down next to Max and took a good look at him.  "Gosh, Max, you've gotten so tall.  And you have your whole style thing and—is that a nose piercing??  What do your parents—"

 

David realized his mistake too late.  Max's eyes fell to the ground and he suddenly looked so, so tired. 

 

Regret coiled in his chest."I'm sorry, I didn't..."

 

He closed his eyes tight, half-expecting Max to get up and walk right out and never want to see him again.

 

Instead, the teen looked up and smiled.  "It's fine.  It's not your fault."

 

Broken.  Pained.  Ruined.  That smile alone said more than words ever could.  David reached out and placed his hand on Max's shoulder, wanting nothing more than to hold him and keep him safe. 

 

"David, stop.  I'll be out as soon as I can save up for a place and I won't have to deal with them anymore," Max whispered.  "I've resigned myself to it.  It's normal to have them hurt me."

 

"It shouldn't be, Max.  It shouldn't be.  And the fact that this is normal to you breaks my heart.  You know I've always wanted to see your smile, but not like this.  Never like this."

 

They were silent.  David kept his hand on his shoulder, and Max didn't recoil. 

 

"I missed you.  When the camp shut down and you had to go home, I couldn't stop crying." 

 

Max chuckled."Yeah," the teen replied."It was pretty pathetic."

 

David pressed his hand on his shoulder and Max turned to look at him, only to see tears in the former counselor's eyes."I wasn't crying for the camp.I was crying for you," he said quietly."Campbell was a place for you to feel safe.But without it, you had to go back home.I cried because I was scared for you."

 

Max just brought his knees up to his chest and sighed."You're so stupid.You should've just adopted me or something if you were so scared."

 

David's eyes widened."Should I have?"

 

"No, you fucking idiot.Take a joke."

 

"...I'm sorry."

 

"Stop apologizing."

 

"I won't ever stop apologizing!" he cried."I care about you so much and yet I did nothing when I realized your parents hated you.They took you away from me and I still did nothing.And now you here, so sad and so used to the abuse that you're desensitized to how awful it is.I could've done something, but I didn't.What can't I apologize for?" 

 

"Stop..." Max said, his body quivering and closing in on itself."Stop it.You did the best you could and it took too long for me to realize that.So fucking stop.The only ones that should be sorry are my parents, not you."

 

David was silent again, trying to wipe his tears away before Max could notice.Of course, he didn't miss a thing.He pulled a tissue out of his bag and handed it to the former counselor.David took it with pressed lips and silently wiped his own tears away. 

 

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked.

 

"Like I said," Max replied, "it took me a while, but I eventually realized you were the only one there for me.  More than Nikki, more than Neil, you.  And I always chose to be the biggest dick to you.  The least I can do now is make up for all the times I treated you like shit."

 

Now it was David's turn to chuckle.  "You've really grown, huh?"

 

"It has been eight years."

 

"You know that's not what I mean.  Your heart has grown too, and I think that's beautiful."

 

A soft smile made its way to Max's face."That means a lot.Thanks, man."He turned away from David to hide his tears, wiping them away with his hand before they could fall.

 

"You're crying..." David whispered.His heart sank when Max flinched."People don't compliment you enough, do they?"

 

"I don't remember the last time I got one.I don't have many friends." 

 

"Well, what about Neil and Nikki?Do you keep in touch with—"

 

Max scoffed bitterly."After they started dating four years ago, I had none left."

 

David gasped, horrified at how cruel the world has been to him. Neil and Nikki?!Not one person has stuck with this poor boy?"I'm... so sorry.I know you cared about them.Why would they just leave you behind?!"

 

Max hesitated.He looked conflicted, like he was about to reveal a life-changing secret.

 

"You can trust me, Max," he said quietly, moving closer and putting an arm around his shoulder.A mother and her child walked in front of them and shot him a dirty look, holding her child's hand tightly.David rolled his eyes.Let her think what she wants.

 

Finally, Max swallowed and put his hands in his lap."We were still friends after they started dating.I was happy for them."Tears started to well up in Max's eyes again and they dripped down his face like raindrops.

 

"But, a month... a month or so in, Nikki found out that I... that I was jealous and that I..."

 

Oh, no.The former counselor shook his head sadly, knowing this feeling all too well."She found out that you liked her." 

 

Max choked and started to sob, hiding his face in David's neck and clutching his shirt helplessly."Not her!" he cried.

 

It took a moment for him to realize, but when he did, he only held onto him tighter."Oh, Max..."

 

"A-And when she told Neil... he was so.. he was so freaked out a-and said he didn't know me, like this whole—this whole time I was just trying to get i-into his pants and didn't care about our friendship or some fucking shit like that, I-I don't know!  And he... and th-then he called me a fa.. a fag—!"

 

"Max, breathe.You're hyperventilating."The teen stopped and sucked in deep breaths, desperately trying to calm his beating heart.David rubbed his shoulders, softly whispering a rhythm for him to breathe.

 

When he was ready, he continued."...Neil couldn't take the thought of me liking him.Neither could Nikki.I thought it would be fine if we just stopped being friends nicely and quietly..." he stopped to sniffle and blow his nose.His tone turned dark and malicious, his hands balling into fists.  "But then he told my parents.He told my fucking parents to keep me away from him as if I was going to rape him or some shit.No matter how hard I tried, he wouldn't listen.And Nikki liked him too much to be empathetic to the gay kid that liked her boyfriend."

 

Max shrugged his sweater off his shoulders and pulled down the corner of his t-shirt to reveal a long, jagged scar that stretched from his collarbone to his forearm.David gasped in horror, covering his mouth in shock. 

 

"This... this is what my dad did to me when he found out."

 

"Oh, god..." David whispered, unable to take his eyes off the scar.It looked like a razor blade was dragged mercilessly onto his skin.It happened four years ago, Max said, which meant he was fucking fourteen.

 

Just like that, Max was sobbing again at full force, digging his face into the crook of David's neck.His tears ran down his shirt but he didn't care.All he could think about was the fact that this poor, poor boy had nobody that loved him.His closest friends were gone and his parents were monsters.For so many years, he's been alone...

 

No.That was wrong.

He had David now.And now he was going to do what he should've done eight years ago.

 

"Max," he said softly, "you said that you're waiting to save up until you have your own home, right?"

 

The teen sniffled and looked up at David."Y-Yeah?"

 

"Why don't you stay with me and Gwen?"

 

Max sat up immediately; his red, wet eyes wide in shock."What??"

 

"Why don't you live with us until you can get on your feet?  That way, you won't have to stay with those demons that call themselves parents."He didn't mean for his tone to become so bitter, but he couldn't help it.All his life, he had never wanted to strangle two people so badly.

 

The teen wiped his eyes with his sleeve and stared at him, biting his lip hesitantly."I'm the worst, believe me.I don't know how to do my laundry, I can't fold clothes for shit—"

 

"I'll teach you.  I'll teach you to cook and clean and everything else so you don't struggle when you have your own home."

 

David could see the hope starting to grow in Max's eyes.  "You... you don't have to do th—"

 

"Yes, I do.  I owe it to you for all the years you suffered alone.  Please, Max," he begged.  "I want you to be happy.  You deserve to be happy."

 

You deserve to be happy.  He remembered telling him that years ago on the night of Parent's Day, when he first learned that things weren't alright at home for him.  It still held as much truth now as it did back then, and it always would.  For all his faults—his vulgar words, his dismissive attitude, his coldness towards those that bother him—he deserved nothing but happiness.  And David would make sure that he got it.

 

Max stared at him, trying to read him, trying to figure out if all of it was real.  It was like a dream come true to get away from his parents.  But at the same time, this could be devastating if David got frustrated with him and kicked him out.  It seemed almost inevitable. 

But at the same time, he trusted David more than anyone in the world.  And that was saying much, considering he hadn't seen him in almost a decade. 

The counselor looked so earnest.  He really looked like he wanted Max to be happy more than Max himself wanted to be happy. 

Did Max even deserve to be happy?  After all this time, was it really in reach?  The thought repeated itself in his mind, clutching around his heart like a vice.  But one look at David’s smiling face and he knew that he’d be okay.  For the first time, he’d be okay. 

 

"Fine," he said, giving in.  "I'll go."

 

David gasped in happiness and threw his arms around the teen, tears springing to his eyes at the prospect of finally, finally being able to protect him.  Max laughed and returned the hug, not caring that his jacket was chafing his arm and not caring that they were getting weird looks from all the people around them.  None of that mattered.  Absolutely none of it.  All he could do was laugh and hold David tight with all the strength he had.

 

Reluctantly, David pulled away and tried not to think about how Gwen would react to the sudden news.  "Come here tomorrow with all of your stuff, Max.  Same time."

 

The teen nodded up and down, his incredulous smile never leaving his face.  "Okay."

 

-

 

The next day, David walked into the park, anxious and excited at the same time.  Today was the day he'd take Max away from a life of pain.  For the first time, he'll be able to feel loved.  That was all David could want.

 

Slowly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a boy in a familiar blue sweater emerge from the park pathways carrying a small backpack.  David told him to grab all of his stuff, was that really all that he could call his own?  That would be one of the first things to change. 

 

When Max's eyes finally landed on him, he brought his hand out from his pocket and gestured him near. 

 

"Come on, Max!"  He yelled.  "Let's go home!"

 

At those words, the teen started to run.  His feet tripped over the brick tiles and rocks but he kept on running.  He just kept on running to the one place where he knew he'd be safe.

 

And he never looked back.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This fic means a lot to me about love and acceptance. Ironically, in my four years of writing, this is the first story I’ve successfully managed to finish, so this is especially special in my heart. Tell me if I should write a sequel or an epilogue! I love reading comments, so please tell me how I did! :)


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